Artist’s Corner

Meet this month’s emerging artist!

By Johara Almogbel

Name: Ftoon AlThaedi

Age: 20

Occupation: Arts and design student, full time artist.

Medium: Oil painting and drawing.

Instagram: falthaedi

What got you started?

At the age of 16 I felt extremely lost and I had no interests at all so I started a self-discovery process in which I experimented with various activities. Painting happened to be one of the activities that I experimented with and once I started to get into it and explore it I immediately fell in love and haven’t stopped painting since then.

Why do you art?

To me art isn’t just about creativity and creation; it is in fact a way of living. I paint to connect with my true self, I paint to stay in touch with my emotions, and I paint to evolve and grow spiritually. Once I started expressing myself through art, a form of inner peace started to unravel. I became acceptant of who I am as a person and that is why art has become my way of living.

Is your work the result of sudden inspiration, or long term planning?

My work is mostly based on inspiration from everyday life. I find things that attract my attention and through them I start to develop an idea. I usually get inspired by details, for example: close ups of lips, eyebrows, lashes, eyes, noses. I find details of the human body mesmerizing and absolutely inspiring.

What is, in your opinion, the best thing you’ve ever created and why?

I believe that my piece “Honey Girl 2014” is the best thing I’ve ever created. It was an eye-opener and a very challenging piece that made me learn a lot of new techniques that later on helped me advance my work. Other than the fact that due to how large and detailed the piece was I constantly felt like I was being rebellious and trying something new and different which made the painting process joyful.

What do you think of the art scene in Riyadh? Anything you’d like to see changed?

The art scene in Riyadh has been growing recently, which is great. I’m starting to see a lot of people becoming more involved with art and connecting with other artists as well. However, there is a specific pattern that most upcoming artists are following to become popular which is something that I would love to see change. After all, creating art isn’t about being popular but more about being successful.

Who are your role models?

Alyssa Monks

Charmaine Olivia

Van Gogh

Frida Khalo

What does being creative mean to you?

I function by being creative and always looking for inspiration to produce a lot of artwork. So in other words creativity is the core of everything that I do.